Centenary of Passchendaele Remembered

Researcher Chris Stupples has listed 31 men from Shaftesbury and District who died in the ill-fated Allied offensive of autumn 1917, known also as the Third Battle of Ypres. The display in Room 8 of Gold Hill Museum highlights brief biographies of eight: Privates Harry Gray, Walter Hodder, Arthur Mayo, and Tom Roberts; Gunners Charles King, Wilfred Merefield, and Frederick Sweeting; and Bombardier Frank Brine. The dates of their deaths recorded on local memorials span the full duration of the Battle from 31 July (Frank Brine) to 10 November (Tom Roberts). Five miles of swamp cost 300,000 Allied casualties.